Thursday, 19 June 2025

Donnybrook Road, Kalkallo

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (18:02): (1749) This will be my last adjournment for some time, given I will probably be missing the next couple of sitting weeks due to a bit of paternity leave – it seems to be becoming a regular occurrence. I thought, ‘What better way to give my last adjournment in a while than on Donnybrook Road in my electorate?’ So my adjournment is to the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, and it is to get on with properly duplicating Donnybrook Road. Now, I have made a promise to my community – the communities of Mickleham, Kalkallo and beyond – to raise Donnybrook Road every single sitting week in the Parliament. We know that Donnybrook Road is an old farm track. The bridge over the Hume is one lane each way. The government even reduced the speed limit on the Hume going north, from 100 kilometres an hour to 80 kilometres an hour, such was the congestion – so they are slowing the entire state down. Now they are also putting in some traffic lights. So I am seeking some information about the further traffic lights they are putting in southbound as you come into the Mitchell Street roundabout, because we also know that this government has failed when it comes to building infrastructure before and as people move in, not after. It was the Liberal Party when were in government that duplicated the Mickleham side of Donnybrook Road, because you know what? We love developer contribution plans – sitting down a developer and saying, ‘You owe us this much tax, so we’re going to work together, and we want this road duplicated because if we don’t duplicate it now, it’s going to be a traffic nightmare.’ And what did Labor do when they came into government? They scrapped that policy. So on the Kalkallo side the government takes all the stamp duty revenue, all the developer contributions from Kalkallo and Donnybrook, and sends it to the $35 billion – probably $50 billion – Suburban Rail Loop in the eastern suburbs.

The people of Kalkallo, Donnybrook and Mickleham are propping up the Suburban Rail Loop in the eastern suburbs, rather than getting their duplication of Donnybrook Road. The government have said they have got $125 million to duplicate Donnybrook Road. All they are doing is blowing up a roundabout that they only recently upgraded in 2023. What a waste it is to do that. We still do not know, and I seek the action of the minister to explain, how much of the $125 million is a state government contribution, because the state government contribution to the road blitz was only $200 million. The minister needs to explain herself and finally get on with properly duplicating Donnybrook Road.